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Taking the Wheel

Sky slowly rolled out of bed, stood and extended her arms to stretch. She then performed her ritual of meditation on the ways of the Builder and deep breathing which concluded in grabbing her sword and attaching it to her belt. Her sword secure, Sky could not help but smile as she focused on the feeling of the airship gliding through the air. Nothing calmed her like the sensation of swiftly moving over the clouds.

Keeping her eyes closed, Sky’s mouth fell into a concentrated frown as she gauged the airship’s speed in her mind. Swiftly. She enjoyed swiftly banking through jet streams. There was nothing swift about the speed their ship was moving. Sky’s pale blue eyes opened, staring blankly at the wall of the room. The more she thought about it, the more she questioned why her husband would want to travel so slowly. Tying her hair to the side in one fast motion, she ascended the stairs with heavy steps, attempting to consider her words.

Scottie’s back faced Sky as she set foot on deck, his elbows flared out beside him as he steered the helm. Sky could see his head tilting down to examine his compass or the maps. He was concentrating on the task at hand and did not hear her boots against the deck behind him. After taking a moment to watch the night skies around them, Sky found herself shaking her head and fighting the urge to audibly ‘tsk’.

Instead of ‘tsking’, Sky cleared her throat as she moved to stand next to Scottie in an attempt to not startle him. Putting on her best smile she said, “I’m up, darling! Are ya ready for me to take over?” She figured the problem would be remedied quickly as long as she could get him to simply step aside.

Scottie wrapped his arm around Sky’s shoulder, pulling her in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Keeping his other hand on the wheel, he said happily, “Well hello there, love! Nah, not just yet. I’d like to discuss the course with you and show you our progress first.”

Sky’s teeth gritted together at his response, her mouth still forming a large smile, “Great…”

Scottie, staying true to form, did not notice anything was amiss as he gabbered on about which quick routes he decided to take and how thrilled he was they were speeding right along. A conflict raged within Sky’s mind: save Scottie from disappointment or allow them to lose possibly a day’s worth of travel time. With each passing moment that Scottie spoke Sky felt the urgency building up inside of her to do something. Anything to make the airship move more quickly.

Thirty minutes later Sky had finally formulated a plan. She held up her finger to stop Scottie as he waxed poetic on how he was utilizing the wind, “I’m rather hungry, darling. One moment.” Sky quickly walked over to one of her canvas bags which was stowed neatly nearby, shoved her hand inside and brought out a small bag. After popping a few dried cinderberries in her mouth she said, “Mmm, these are really good! Would you like to try some? I can told the wheel for you…”

Grinning at her generosity, Scottie said, “I’d love to! You’re so sweet, love.” He took his hands off the wheel and busied himself picking out the best looking berries to sample.

Sky smirked and grabbed the helm tightly, looking around the air for a split second before hitting the throttle forward hard with her hand. The engines growled louder as the airship lunged forward. Scottie’s balance was upset so much that he struggled to regain his footing, his eyes wide as he watched his seemingly crazed wife, “What the hell, darling?!”

Spurred on by the thrill of the wind blowing fast around them, Sky grinned maniacally, responding, “I could not stand to see us creep through the skies like that! Let me show you how this baby can run…” She purposefully skipped the part drawing a similarity between his flying skills and that of a grandfather.

Scottie grabbed the nearby railing tightly as he watched Sky expertly handle the craft. Over the course of half an hour his expression changed from one of panic to one of amusement. He chuckled, “You could have just said something, you know…”

Leaning towards him, she kissed his cheek and replied, “Cinderberries were my way of ‘saying something.’” She smiled widely, “And now, time for your first lesson in the art of speed flying…”

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8 Comments

  1. Emerson Lighthouse Emerson Lighthouse June 4, 2012

    Note to self: Don’t ever give Sky the keys to my new steam carriage.

     

  2. Jonathon Spires Jonathon Spires June 4, 2012

    I hope that thing is not supersonic.. just replaced the window panes.

  3. Jonathon Spires Jonathon Spires June 4, 2012

    I hope that thing is not supersonic.. just replaced the window panes. (and for some reason the notning wanted me to say so, twice)

    • Junie Ginsburg Junie Ginsburg June 4, 2012

      Oh, I just assumed it was one response from each of you.

      • ElvisOmar Oyen ElvisOmar Oyen June 4, 2012

        Me too. I had imagined V.1 did the port side reglazing, and V.2 did the starboard.

  4. Kristos Sonnerstein Kristos Sonnerstein June 6, 2012

    And why is it they’re simply in trade and not selling tickets for thrill rides?

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